Sub1 HB298: By the Numbers

How does one eliminate government mandates without cutting jobs? Responsibly. Sub1 HB298 has proposed reducing the number of times that a vehicle has to be taken in to receive a safety inspection. There were claims that doing this would cost the state 9,000 jobs (Deseret News).

Strictly looking at the numbers, this is bogus. To lose 9,000 jobs over decreasing the number of safety inspections, mathematically, the state would have to conduct 24 million inspections each year. This figure is extremely inflated.

The actual total is closer to 1.7 million on average. In 2011 in fact, 1,743,329 safety inspections were completed, according to the state Safety Inspection Office.

If the proposed bill were to take effect, the number of safety inspections completed per year would average around half a million. This number would not affect jobs in any significant way. The businesses that conduct safety inspections are not strictly limited to this task. Many also conduct emissions, oil changes, and multiple other car repairs. The idea that this would hurt their bottom line and effect jobs is entirely farfetched.

Why should we continue to waste the taxpayer’s time and money over an inspection that is become less and less necessary as cars become increasingly safer?